1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to training apparatus for sports and, more particularly, to a grip trainer for positioning a user's hand on a sports racquet, such as a tennis racquet, to aid in proper hand placement upon the handle of the racquet.
2. Related Art
Persons learning a new racquet sport often have trouble mastering the proper techniques that must be acquired before tennis, badminton, racquetball, and the like can be played with ease and confidence. In particular, tennis players often have trouble learning a variety of grips needed to make certain strokes. Some of these grips include, but are not limited to, the forehand grip, the backhand grip, the serving grip, etc. The manner in which a tennis ball is served or returned, however, depends not only upon the form of the grip used but also upon whether the player's hand slips before or when the ball is hit. These problems can be exacerbated in younger players, for example, who also have a tendency to “choke up” on the racquet as they play, i.e., their hand positions tend to move upwards along the racquet handle toward the racquet strings. This is disadvantageous because a player loses power and control the more he or she “chokes up.” Additionally, tennis players of all ages may over-rotate their hand. In the case of a right-handed player, this means that the player's hand and wrist tend to slip toward the right. A left-handed player's hand and wrist tend to slip toward the left. Over-rotation of the hand leads to improper stroke technique (forehand, backhand, serve, etc.), which reduces the players' ability to hit powerful, controlled shots.
Various training devices have been developed to teach players how to properly grip a tennis racquet. For example, the Grip Doctor Training Aid™ marketed and sold by Mansion Grove house and Mansion Select™ of Austin, Tex. is a two part system that purports to fit all hand sizes and attach to almost any tennis racquet handle. The first part of the system is a flexible piece of material configured at one end to slip over a player's index finder and configured at the opposite end to attach to the player's wrist. A strip of Velcro™ is attached to the portion of the flexible material that substantially covers the player's palm. The second part of the system is a piece of Velcro™ that is fixedly secured (smooth side down) to the racquet handle. The hooked/looped surface of this second piece of Velcro™ faces outwardly and removably engages the looped/hooked surface of the strip of Velcro™ attached to the player's palm. However, the Grip Doctor Training Aid™ is cumbersome to wear and may be uncomfortable to use. Additionally, there is no guarantee the player will grip the handle properly when the tennis racquet is picked up. Readjusting the player's hand once the racquet handle is grasped is cumbersome because the Velcro™ pieces have to be separated and then reconnected.
German Patent No. DE 3202194 A1 to Tiso discloses a pair of L-shaped brackets that are fixedly attached to opposite sides of a tennis racquet handle. Each L-shaped bracket has a generally flat upright portion and a generally flat base portion. The base portion of each L-shaped bracket is fastened to the tennis racquet handle using screws. For forehand play, the player grips the racquet by placing the inside of their thumb adjacent a first one of the pair of L-shaped brackets. For backhand play, the player grips the racquet by placing a second one of the pair of L-shaped brackets between their index and middle fingers. However, in this patent, the brackets are screwed into the handle of the racquet, which in practice may devalue or deface the racquet. Moreover, this type of structure is not easily adjustable, because a player would need tools and a significant amount of time to adjust, remove, or install the brackets. Another disadvantage is that the thin edges of the generally flat upright portions of the L-shaped brackets may chafe the player's hand during play. Yet another disadvantage with this bracket design is that it is not likely to be useful for serving.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,311 to Bertucci, discloses an index finger positioning device for tennis racquet handles. The positioning device is generally of an obtuse triangular construction having rounded ends and sides. It is tapered from its base to its apex, and is to be installed with its long side positioned generally transversely of the major axis of the racquet handle to separate the index finger from the remaining fingers. The positioning device is bonded or otherwise secured to a flexible mount strap having, for example, pressure sensitive adhesive at the ends thereof so that the strap may be wrapped about the racquet handle and secured at the proper point. The purpose of this device appears to be more of a performance-enhancing apparatus than an instructional teaching aid. For example, the positioning device separates the index finger from the remaining fingers for increased drive in forehand and backhand strokes, but the positioning device is not used at all during serves. Instead, in preparation for a serve, the racquet is rotated 180 degrees to permit conventional grasping of the racquet handle without interference of the positioning device. Consequently, a player may benefit from increased drive using forehand and backhand grips, but may hold the racquet improperly during a serve and thereby experience decreased drive and/or control. Moreover, this device may not be effective to prevent over-rotation of the hand common with beginners.
Thus, there is a need for an improved grip trainer for racquet sports, such as tennis, squash, badminton, or the like, that is easily and removably attachable to a racquet handle, readily prevents over-rotation of the hand, can be used to teach a player the proper grip for at least, but not limited to, backhand play, forehand play, and serving, and is particularly adapted for use as a teaching aid for young children.